From left: Councilwoman Georgette Gómez, Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey, SANDAG Director Hasan Ikhrata and MTS CEO Paul Jablonski discuss transit at Politifest 2019. / Photo by Vito Di Stefano

Like most cities in CaliforniaSan Diego was built with the car in mind. Only 2.6 percent of people here commute by transit — that’s extremely low compared with dense cities like Chicago, New York and Boston. 

But how do we improve the system? And what can reasonably be done given the constraints in place? Voice of San Diego’s Andrew Keatts sat down with some of the county’s most prominent transportation leaders at Politifest 2019 to discuss the issues and potential solutions. 

“Our infrastructure is at capacity and we’re not going to be able to build our way out of it,” said Paul Jablonski, CEO of San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. “I never advocate for get rid of all cars. Cars serve a purpose and there’s not everywhere that transit can go, but we can do a better job at taking 10, 15 percent out of their cars and into transit. That would make a world of difference. 

Other panelists included City Councilwoman Georgette GómezSANDAG Executive Director Hasan Ikhrata and Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey. 

Catch up on everything related to Politifest 2019 here.  

Listen Now

• Listen on Apple
• Listen on Google
• Listen on Spotify

Megan is Voice of San Diego’s director of marketing. She is responsible for producing and overseeing strategies that extend the reach of the organization....

Leave a comment

We expect all commenters to be constructive and civil. We reserve the right to delete comments without explanation. You are welcome to flag comments to us. You are welcome to submit an opinion piece for our editors to review.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.